Before the bell: Nasdaq futures up 0.6% as Delta cuts its profit outlook and telecoms slide on SpaceX

U.S. stock futures are higher Friday morning, led by technology, after a session in which the Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1% on a lower OpenAI revenue figure. At 7:16 a.m. ET on the Chronicle markets board, S&P 500 futures were 7,802.2, up 0.30%, Nasdaq-100 futures 30,998.4, up 0.61%, Dow futures 51,321.1, up 0.09%, and the Russell 2000 2,801.8, up 0.25%. CNBC noted the S&P 500 is on track for a weekly gain of 0.6%, while the Dow and Nasdaq are about flat for the week. Our OpenAI story has the detail on Thursday's drop.

Delta cuts its forecast

Delta Air Lines reported its first earnings miss in two years. CNBC reported adjusted earnings of $1.72 a share against $1.75 expected by LSEG, on adjusted revenue of $17.59 billion against $17.67 billion. The guidance is the bigger number: Delta now sees 2026 adjusted earnings of $5.10 to $5.60 a share, down from $6.50 to $7.50 in July, and cut its free cash flow outlook to $2.5 billion from as much as $4 billion. It pointed to a roughly $6 billion rise in fuel costs this year. CEO Ed Bastian said demand is still strong and fares keep rising. Shares were down about 4% in early trading. For what higher fares mean for buyers, see our airfare piece.

Telecoms, Apple and Humana

AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are sharply lower after SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio, while SpaceX rose about 4%, per CNBC. Our after-hours report has the deal terms. CNBC also said Apple was about 2% lower premarket after Nikkei Asia reported it told some suppliers to cut component production for its new iPhone 18 Pro models; CNBC had asked Apple for comment. Humana jumped 14% on an upgrade in Medicare Advantage quality ratings.

Yields and oil

The Treasury's official close on Thursday was 5.22% for the 10-year, 4.75% for the 2-year and 5.60% for the 30-year, per the daily curve. CNBC had the 10-year steady at about 5.24% this morning. Oil is lower after Trump posted that the U.S. "will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections," CNBC said. Brent December futures were $103.48 and WTI November $90.87 in its report; on our board WTI was $92.20, down 0.55%. Gold is up 1.16% at $4,181.58 and the dollar index is 101.86.

On the calendar

Our economic calendar lists no major U.S. release today. Existing home sales come October 13 and September CPI on October 14, with the Fed meeting October 28.

Crypto

On Coinbase, Bitcoin was $82,426 against a 24-hour open of $82,429, essentially flat, after a Thursday low near $80,315. CoinDesk said Bitcoin is about 4% lower on the week and Ether 9% lower. Ether was $2,488 on our board.

Sources: CNBC, CoinDesk, U.S. Treasury, Chronicle markets board, Coinbase Exchange. Quotes were taken before the open and move quickly; early volume is thin. This is market information, not investment advice.